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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

There's no doubt that Veterans Day brings to the forefront that those that are serving and have served, have sacrificed much to give all of us all the freedoms we enjoy today as Americans. Families and friends of those that are serving and have served, I also salute you and thank you for all that you've done!Please don't forget our Veterans. Reach out and let them know how much they've done for us and others around the world!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

First of all.....thanks to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP). She's been under the weather, to put in mildly and trying to keep us all organized and bead-happy.Second of all....thanks to Kay Mallery, my BSBP partner, for sending me a lot of awesomeness.

That's only part of the awesomeness that Kay sent to me. Third of all.....this has gotten me back to my jewelry. I had left it for quite awhile, totally unmotivated to create anything. And lastly.....here's what came from me being motivated again...Enjoy!

The Rhinestone Bow with Rhinestone Dangleswas the perfedt centerpiece

I fell in love with the opaque crystals

The Vintaj etched metal piece was the perfectbackdrop for my cross

The Sardonyx and Rutilated Quartzsaid ooh la la to me

Two earring components were added.....one for interest and one as a connector

Rutilated Quartz looks greatwith the Sardonyx

Look at those white pearls and blackonyx together....and they arrivedalready on headpins ready to be dangles

If you haven't already been there.....hop on over to Kay's blog at kaymreflections!Until then.......Happy Bead Soup Blog Hopping!!!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Recently I sat down with a friend of mine who wanted to share with me some of her mother's treasures. It was a wonderful couple of hours going through pins, watches and bracelets and listening to her stories. These are some of the items that I will have the pleasure of re-creating into other pieces of jewelry.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

From the last two trips I made to Paris, I have been fortunate enough to find small mesh chatelaine purses at the Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves. A very nice vendor indicated three boar's heads on the frame of one of the mesh purses I wanted to purchase.....I knew little about them but loved the look and feel of them. The boar's heads indicated the fineness of 800 or more on on the purse. I did a little research and came up with the following.

Taken from www.modernsilver.comOn French silver jewelry, the most often-seen mark is the boar’s head, the mark of the Paris Assay Office, indicating a fineness of 800 or higher on small articles (such as jewelry). This mark was in use from 1838 to 1961. Outside of Paris, the crab mark was used from 1838 to 1961, and since 1962, has also been used by the Paris Assay Office.After 1838, a maker’s mark in a lozenge (diamond shape with four equal sides) was also required on French gold, silver and platinum. According to Tardy, the lozenge shape itself was introduced in 1797, but it is not clear if there were any regulations about its use at that time.

I also have a purse with the lozenge and three boar's heads. The frame's on these mesh purses can have beautiful and interesting designs. Some have a "kiss clasp" inside.

I was finally inspired to make a necklace from one of my purses when I saw Christine Wallace's beautiful piece in the Autumn 2011 Jewelry Affaire magazine.

I would love to know the women who used these small purses....what stories they could probably tell us.Until then.....stay inspired!

Monday, April 21, 2014

A new member recently joined my jewelry team. She is fast becoming friends with the other members of the team....Margot and Babbette. She's become a valuable asset in such a short time. Plus she's just a lot of fun! Her name is Mireille which means to admire. And I do. Mireille loves to display my jewelry and is very photogenic. She also adds a bit of ooh la la to my bead studio!

I want to thank a fellow student of Deryn Mentock's online class...An Alchemy of Found Objectsfor providing the source of Miereille. She's wonderful when testing your necklaces and how they will look on someone...is there balance?....does something turn the wrong way?....that kinda stuff. Until then.....keep creating!!!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

They're both pretty awesome brooches (well at least I think so), but the brooch on the right was more awesome than I thought it was when I purchased it at a local antique shop. When you turn it over you can see that the pin part of the brooch is also a frame for what becomes two shoe clips. Pretty kewl, huh? I've not seen anything like this before but maybe it's more common than I'm aware of. Not sure what I will do with it but it was an interesting find.Until then.....keep shopping for the unusual!!

Monday, March 24, 2014

I saw the mailman and I thought one of those has just GOT to be for me! And I was so excited when one of those boxes had my name on it from my partner, Kay Mallery. There it was....a box all taped up just waiting for me to tear into it.I've been given some really kewl bead soup........

Vintage Findings, Beads, Czech Glass, MOP

But I had to take another pic to show off the awesome vintage rhinestone pin that Kay sent along with that very French box it's laying on.

Vintage Rhinestone Pin, Sardonyx chunky beads and Tourmalated Quartz

But WAIT......there's more more more~~~~~lampwork beads that Kay has made herself. And look at all those colors. Green's that represent the lushness of Oregon's Willamette Valley, shades of Blue off Oregon's rocky Pacific coast, and the Amber's that are all the shades of sand the ocean splashes up on.

Kay's Lampwork Beads

Well, I better get busy thinking about what I'm going to do with all this bead soup goodness I've been given.....time to get creative! Thanks, Kay, for your beautiful bead soup.Until then........let the creative juices flow!!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Deryn Mentock is offering an online class called The Alchemy of Objects. I'm very excited to be taking this class and learning techniques to include my vintage jewelry and objects along with my costume jewelry in future designs.

You may also want to check out her new book The Jewelry Maker's Design Book, An Alchemy of Objects.Deryn offers a weekly challenge in this online class. I hope to be able to participate in a couple of these challenges but my main focus is technique. Hopefully I will have a beautiful piece of jewelry from my found objects to post in the future.Until then......Keep Focused!!!

The first reveal of the 8th BSBP has arrived.....that being my partner for this Party.

Kay Mallery of Kay Mallery-Reflections and I will be exchanging our stashes and ramping up our creativity. Kay enjoys using a variety of techniques and mediums in creating her jewelry. This gives me a lot to consider when putting Kay's Bead Soup together.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

I'm like that kid in the backseat of the car asking mom and dad....."are we there yet"? I'm filled with anticipation that my BSBP partner will soon be revealed to me. I'm on the edge of the backseat of the car bouncing up and down until mom and dad finally say....."almost"!

Lori Anderson has performed a mind-boggling task of pairing BSBP participants together. Thanks for all the many hours you've spent to make this event fun, exciting, and challenging for all of us.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

When I saw the announcement that sign-ups were going to take place for the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP) I was ready to hit the delete button.....I'm sorry Lori!!!!My motivation to make jewelry has been long gone and I knew I needed to get it back. How had I drifted away for so long?

I really enjoyed myself in past BSBPs and it was just what the jewelry-doc ordered to get myself back in the jewelry game again! So, look for the big reveal to come when I receive my stash from my partner (who hasn't been determined yet).Here's a couple of posts from the last BSPB......The Stash ArrivedThe Big RevealUntil then.......Stay Motivated!!

Monday, January 6, 2014

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything to Perles and Life but our computer has been a little tied up lately.

Humphrey....yes, that's his name....is either typing e-mails

OR

reading e-mails!!!!

But Humphrey FINALLY took a break from all of it

Well, now that I've got control of the computer for a bit, I wanted to share a picture that was shared with me by a childhood friend (thank you so much, Sharon). Our parents were friends during WWII and beyond. In looking at this pic, I realized that their friendship spanned many decades and how wonderful it must have been for them to experience that throughout the years.